Inspección visual, identificación y limpieza de chasis y placas fotoestimulables

1. Some very young children were able to handle quite a broad variety of media and ICT de- vices with surprising knowledge about how they functioned. For example, some children were owners of meta devices, which combined several functions of other ICT devices, such as a Kiddyzoom; this is a camera that allows children to take pictures and play games, also in combination with photographs taken, and to listen to music. The devices mentioned or similar devices were reported to be of the greatest interest for the children, while not being perceived as ICT devices due to the lack of internet access. This applies even to the parents. 2. Unregulated use - which is indicated not only by an intense time of use, but also and more

precisely through psycho-social consequences, even at this early stage of development - requires regulation by parents, if the child is not able to self-regulate. Interestingly, parents noticed that TV use caused some problems in earliest childhood and this happened again with other ICT devices half a year later, when at least some regulative measures - in terms of TV use - had been implemented.

Italy

National socio-economical context

• Italy is a southern European country with a population of 60 665 551 inhabitants. It is still ranked as one of the most industrialised nations of the world and the third largest economy in the euro area. However, it has been strongly hit by the economic crisis, and unemployment rates (especially of young 15-to-24-year-olds) are still above the EU average.

• Italy is an ageing society with 13 369 754 people aged over 65, compared to 8 281 859 children aged 0-14 in 2015. The average size of households dropped from 3.3 in 1971 to 2.4 in 2011. The average fertility rate, though, has slightly increased, from 1.27 children per woman in 2002 to 1.39 in 2013.

Internet and digital technology

• The number of Italian households with internet access has increased from 52.4 % in 2010 to 66.2 % in 2015. 64.4 % of households have a broadband connection, though the amount of mobile-only broadband access is increasing - from 6.6 % in 2010 to 18.6 % in 2015.

• The internet is more diffused among young people and households with children: 89 % of households with children have access to the internet. 45 % of children aged 6-10, 81 % of those aged 11-14 and 90 % of teenagers aged 15-19 are internet users.

• The European Commission’s ‘Survey of schools: ICT in education’ (2013) ranks Italy among the countries with the lowest percentages of students having access to internet- connected desktop computers in Europe at grade 8. Also, in terms of internet-connected laptop computers at grade 8 Italy is among the bottom group of countries, and the situ- ation is the same for all other grades. The percentage of students in schools without broadband is higher than the EU average, particularly at grade 4, where more than one in three students are in a school with no broadband.

General pattern of parenthood

nologies earlier and to have media-rich homes. Nonetheless, the way parents regulate their children’s access to and use of digital media varies consistently depending on par- ents’ education, socioeconomic status and own familiarity with the internet and digital technologies. Higher educated parents are more concerned with promoting children’s empowerment, thus balancing online activities (with a preference for educational con- tent and apps) with a variety of outdoor activities and afterschool programmes. Lower educated parents often feel inadequate in mediating their children’s relationship with technologies and favour a restrictive approach based on rules. However, lower socio- economic families are also more likely to use technologies as digital babysitters or ‘sur- rogate parents’, to keep children busy and safe while they are engaged in household chores.

• Independently from income or education, parents who are digitally literate are more con- fident in promoting positive uses of technologies and supporting their children’s digital literacy practices.

Schooling system for children from 0 to 8-year-old

• Compulsory school attendance begins with the first class of primary school, usually when the child is already 6 years of age. Pre-schoolers can attend kindergarten, from the age of 3 to 6, whereas babies and toddlers are either looked after by grandparents or babysitters at home or attend nurseries. The number of nurseries is still insufficient to meet the demand.

• Though not compulsory, attendance at early childhood education is nearly universal in Italy: 98 % of 4-year-olds are enrolled in early childhood education, compared to 88 % on average across OECD countries.

• The ‘Piano Nazionale per la Scuola Digitale: la Buona Scuola’ (‘National Plan for Digital Schools: the Good School’), launched in 2015 by the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR), encourages the adoption of new technologies in the pre-school context in order to support children’s learning. More specifically, the teaching of coding is extended to pre-schools and a new teacher profile will be trained and employed also in the pre-school context, namely the so-called ‘animatore digitale’ (the ‘digital trainer’).

Age Schooling type

0-3 (Nursery)

3-6 Kindergarten/pre-school

6-8 Two first grade of primary school

After-school and leisure activities

• After school, children are usually looked after by grandparents or mothers (if employed part- time) and engage in various afterschool activities. The range of after-school programmes di- rectly organised by school is also expanding, including sports, English classes, drama classes or free leisure activities. As a consequence, children’s leisure time is highly structured and this

influences the (overall limited) time that children of this age spend with technologies.